Old Friends Restored
by Lelerox306
Summary: After almost 25 years, Katniss finally encounters Gale again. How, you may ask? He's her new neighbor!
1. Have You Met the Neighbors?

**Author's Note: **From the start of the Hunger Games series, I absolutely loved Peeta! I was so glad Katniss ended up with him, but I never disliked Gale, and I felt that their friendship shouldn't end. So here's my point of view on what _could_ have happened. Should I continue the story? I'm kind of new at this whole fanfic thing, but I love writing and the Hunger Games was one of my favorite series. Please review and tell me what you think, it would mean the world to me!

**Disclaimer:** The original characters belong to the wonderful Suzanne Collins, author of the Hunger Games series. The plot of this story was mine, and I added a couple of characters along the way, but the original ideas belong to her!

* * *

**"Old Friends Restored."**

Chapter 1 _~ The New Neighbors_

A soft knock on the front door startled me. It was about noon, so both Daisy and Will were in school. Peeta had the key, and he would be busy at the bakery regardless. My bow and arrows were slung across my shoulder, since I was about to go hunting. Maybe it was Haymitch. Since the kids had been born, he was mostly sober for their sake. It was amazing the kind of wonders my children had performed. And to think it took 15 years for Peeta to get me to budge on the matter. Warily, I opened the door. Before me stood a boy about Daisy's age (10 years old) and a little girl about Will's age (7 years old). But it was their appearance that sent my heart hammering in my chest.

Both of them stared up at me cheerfully with their olive toned skin and grey Seam eyes. My eyes. But even worse, they were Gale's eyes. Gale Hawthorne, who was brilliant at designing weapons, so brilliant that the rebels entrusted him with that task. And though I could never confirm it, the bomb that killed Prim was most likely one that he assisted in making.

Back then, our relationship had been complicated. We used to be hunting partners, helping each other survive back in our starving days in District 12. Best friends, kindred spirits. He fell in love with me, but I was too damaged to truly straighten out my feelings for him. And though I know we would have never worked out anyways, I blamed him for Prim's death. That was the final blow to our already rocky friendship, and at the time, I felt that I would never separate Prim's death from him.

More than twenty years had passed since then, and I was now 43 years old. Though I was still damaged, nightmares still came and went, I had Peeta whom I loved and stood by my side. My children were a blessing who enriched my life, helping to heal me further. But these two kids who stood in front of me opened up a page that I thought had been closed forever in my life. And what they said next confirmed the new fear that sprung up within me.

"Are you Mrs. Catnip?" asked the little girl. The boy elbowed who I assumed was his sister. "Her name is not Mrs. Catnip, Rena! It's Mrs. Katniss!" he reprimanded. "Are you Mrs. Katniss?" corrected Rena, unfazed and still cheerful. "Our daddy sent us here to see if you still lived here!"

Though my head was spinning, I attempted to answer in a level headed manner. "Yes, I am Mrs. Katniss. Who is your daddy?" I was pretty sure what the answer would be. The boy took my hand and started pulling me outside of my own house. "My name is Luca. We can take you to our daddy if you want to meet him!" I let Rena and Luca pull me along without protest. They chattered on about moving to a new house.

Surprisingly, we stopped at the house beside Haymitch's. The kids opened the door to the house while calling out "Daddy, where are you!" I decided to simply stand in the doorway, waiting. Both the children had run up the stairs, still looking for their father. And that's when I heard it. The unmistakably soft tread of a hunter. One that only a fellow hunter could recognize, even after many, many years. Coming down the stairs, silent as always, was my old best friend. "Hey Catnip." said Gale as if no time at all had passed since our last encounter.

So I did exactly what I would've done, so many years ago, when I was a broken teenager. I ran like hell, ready to demand an explanation from an alcoholic.

* * *

I burst through Haymitch's door, startling him immensely. He jumped from the couch he'd been sitting on, looking at me perplexed. "Katniss, what's wrong? Is it the kids?" Anger coursing through me, I pounced on him. Though I wasn't in the same shape as I was before, Haymitch was much older than me, so I pinned him to the ground easily. "You knew didn't you? Why didn't you tell me?" I roared, right in his face.

He looked at me as if I was a lunatic while struggling to unpin himself. I supposed that right at this moment, I looked pretty crazy. "What are you talking about?" he growled. "Gale! You knew he was moving in!" For weeks there had been rumors of new people coming to the Victor's Village. Since I'd never been on for district gossip, I didn't pay much attention. But I was positive that no one really knew who the neighbors would be. My attacking Haymitch seemed pretty ridiculous when I considered that, but the obstinate side of me never faded with the years.

"What are you talking about Katniss?" Resigned, I stood and extended my hand to help him up. "Gale. His kids knocked on my door today and led me to their house. He lives in the house next to you now." Shock registered in Haymitch's face. Though he had kept things from me before, I was sure he would never fail to tell me something so important.

He took my hand and led me to the couch. "Katniss, I swear I didn't know. I would have told you." His voice was earnest. "I don't understand why he's here!" There were so many possible answers to his question, but there was only one way I could get the real one. So I took a deep breath and put on my brave face, determined to speak to the man who used to be my best friend.


	2. Experienced Hunters on Dangerous Grounds

**Author's note: **Thank you for adding my story to your favorites and reviewing! I really appreciate it! Okay, so I'm going to switch point of views throughout the story. I'll make sure to label clearly so no one is confused. Please let me know if you like the idea or if you'd rather just keep only Katniss's P.O.V. Sorry I didn't update earlier, I'll try post earlier next time!

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**Peeta**

"Maggie, do you think you can handle the store for a bit?" The day had been slow, I had just taken out a fresh batch of cheese buns, and I knew Katniss would love the surprise. "Sure thing Mr. Mellark!" replied my assistant with an enthusiastic nod that sent her wild red curls bouncing. She was young -around sixteen- but an excellent baker and a good employee.

Hurriedly I took off my apron, wiped flour off my hands, and filled a paper bag with the steaming cheese buns. I also took a couple of frosted cookies the kids loved to eat after school.

When I arrived home a couple of minutes later, the place seemed deserted. It was around 1 o'clock so naturally the kids would be in school until 2. But where was Katniss? She should be back from hunting by now. I decided to check Haymitch's. His door was open, so I let myself in.

He was standing by the window, spying on the house next door for some reason. "Haymitch, do you know where Katniss is?"He jumped, startled, and spun around. "Oh hi Peeta. What did you say?"

Why was he looking around so guiltily? "Do you know where Katniss is? I stopped by the house, but she's not there." He twiddled his thumbs and avoided looking at me. "I don't know Peeta. Maybe she went hunting?" he faltered, even furthering my suspicions that he was lying.

I raised my eyebrows. "You and I both know she's _not_ hunting. Tell me where she is Haymitch!" He sighed in exasperation. "Look Peeta, don't flip out. She's in the house next door."

"What?" I asked, completely surprised. "Isn't the house empty?" Haymitch kept fidgeting and looked extremely uncomfortable. "It's better if you see for yourself. Just go on next door." Still extremely puzzled, I walked out without even saying goodbye to Haymitch.

I went up the front steps of the house, and I noticed that it had a just-moved-in kind of feeling to it. Frowning, I knocked on the door a bit harder than I should have. My gut told me that things were about to get _very_ serious.

* * *

**Katniss**

When I came back to his house to demand some explanations, Gale laughed at me. _Laughed at me. _Definitely not something that sweetened my mood. "Catnip, you haven't changed at all! That was exactly the reaction I expected." He smirked as he led me to his sitting room and gestured. "Please, sit down!"

I refused to sit and crossed my arms over my chest. "What are you doing here Gale?" I barked. "Well Catnip-" I cut him off, furious. "Don't call me that!" He looked at me, clearly amused. "Alright. _Mrs. Everdeen_, I came here because I was sick of my job in my job in the Capitol. I wanted to visit Twelve. I also wanted to see how you were doing."

"My last name is no longer Everdeen, Gale. I am Mrs. Katniss Mellark." I said in a biting tone. He frowned at my hostility, mouth open to respond, but a loud knock sounded on the door, interrupting the less-than-friendly exchange between us.

"Wonder who that could be…" Gale muttered while he pushed past me to answer the door. I followed right behind him, curious to see who it was. He opened the door only a crack, most likely just to irritate me. Whoever was outside caused his eyes to widen, anxiety showing clearly on his face.

"Hello Peeta." He said in greeting. Did I just hear that right? Peeta? Wasn't he supposed to be at the bakery? Gale opened the door wider and motioned for him to come in. Fear rooted me to the ground, mouth opened in shock. Peeta stood in front of me, eyes blazing with different emotions. Alarm, anger, hurt, and betrayal, all rolled up into his beautiful blue eyes.

Gale looked between the two of us. "Now before you both get emotional, I'll start explaining. Peeta, let me just clarify that nothing hot and heavy was going on between me and Katniss. She just very rudely informed me of her marital status." With a pointed look in my direction, Gale started walking back towards the sitting room, so I followed suit.

"I would offer you some tea, but I'm not completely settled in." Gale said after we were all sitting around the small table in front of the television. "Cut to the chase Gale. What are you doing here, and why did you send your kids to see whether I still lived there or not?" I growled, my irritation growing.

Even though I'd come to peace with Prim's death, it still hurt. She would've had a family of her own now if that bomb hadn't turned her into a human torch. And once I accepted her death, and the nightmares started coming less often, I forgave Gale. I didn't expect to ever see him again at the time. Even when he was being interviewed on television I simply shut it off. He was a part of my life that I'd written off long ago. But he was here now, and even worse, he would be living here, just a couple of doors down from me. It brought back painful memories, and I could already see the effect this was having on Peeta.

"Honestly Katniss, I sent my children to your house because I was afraid. I know it's cowardly, but that's the truth." His honest answer took me by surprise. Gale had never been one to show emotions, especially weakness. "I know you probably hate me right now. But I was tired of being in the spotlight of the Capitol. Things in Panem are great now. They have been for a while. I feel like I did my duty, like I set things right. Now I just want to live peacefully, with my family. The only place I could think of where I could truly accomplish that was in Twelve."

He paused, breathless. "I also wanted to talk to you again. Get our friendship back. Because now I see we would've never worked out as a couple. I'm truly happy with Anne." A small smile spread across his face, and I assumed Anne was his wife. He sounded so sincere, I didn't want to interrupt. "Katniss," he continued, now an urgent tone in his voice. He was looking straight into my eyes. "I'm so sorry about Prim. I never really got a chance to tell you that. Whether it was my bomb or not, I never really showed you just how horrible I felt. At the time, I was being selfish, consumed with jealousy." A strange choking sound came from the back of my throat. But it wasn't from sorrow. I was actually relieved, because after all these years, I was finally getting true closure for Prim's death.

* * *

After his apology, Gale spoke for a few minutes more about his life after we parted. He was just about to get into how he met Anne -which I was very curious about- when a clock struck, signaling it was 2 in the afternoon. Peeta shot up out of his seat. "I'm going to pick up the kids." He said in a robotic voice. To prevent him from trying to stop me, I waited until he was out the door to stand up. I shot an apologetic glance at Gale, who nodded in understanding, and ran after Peeta.


	3. Interesting New Customers

**Author's Note:** I swear I fan girl squeal every time I get a review or you guys favorite the story, so keep it up! Anyways, I finally got a chapter in before ten. Woot! I'm going to try to make the chapters longer from now on. Btw, there are a lot of cheesy romantic moments in this chapter, so hope you like it! ;D

-Lele

* * *

**Katniss:**

"Peeta, wait!" I yelled after him. I had dashed out of Gale's house, but Peeta seemed determined to stay away from me. A bit after we had left the Victor's Village I caught up with him, trying to grab his arm. He spun around, looking furious.

"There's a reason why I left his house without you Katniss!" he said spitefully. "Peeta, please. Why are you so angry?" I asked in a pleading tone. His expression turned stormy, a mixture of anger and disbelief. "Are you joking? Why do you think I'm angry?" his voice was rising rapidly, but I let him yell at me, feeling miserable. "Living a couple doors down from us is the only guy you've ever loved besides me. How am I _supposed _to feel about that? It doesn't really help that Haymitch feels that this tidbit of gossip is so juicy that he was spying on the two of you. Not to mention that when I walked into Gale's house, both of you looked very, very guilty."

He paused, seeming a little deflated from his wrath. "What if this life isn't enough for you? What if I'm not enough?" Now he was barely speaking above a whisper. His words were ridiculous to me. "Peeta, listen to me. You're the only one who's been there for me. I can't imagine living without you. _I need you._ No one, not Gale or anyone else will take me away from you." I took his hand, inching closer to him. "I love you." And with that, I kissed him, right in the middle of the road.

We kept walking toward the school for a couple of minutes in a comfortable silence, holding hands. "You know, I left a couple of cheese buns over at Haymitch's." Peeta said. I laughed. Haymitch probably ate them all by now. "Is that why you weren't at the bakery?"

His face turned solemn. "Yeah, I wanted to surprise you. Business was slow today." That was another reason why I loved him. He was just such a considerate husband. "Peeta, you don't have to feel threatened by Gale. Things are never going to be the same between me and him. I seriously doubt we'll even become friends again. Too much time has passed, and things just ended so badly between us…."

By now I could see the school ahead of us, but Peeta stopped, looking straight into my eyes. "Katniss don't feel that you have to stay away from Gale because of me. I trust you, and despite past differences, I know he's a good guy. "I threw my hands up in exasperation. "Why do you have to be so perfect?" I exclaimed. He laughed, taking my hand again. "I'm not. Didn't you just witness my very serious lapse of judgment and blind jealousy? I swear, I must have seemed like a hormone-crazed teenager!"

We started walking again, and soon I could see Daisy and Will, waiting impatiently in the front of the school. It had been a while since I was so late to pick them up!

Daisy ran to greet us, brown hair streaking behind her. Will reached us only a few seconds later, his blond curls left in a mess. "What took you guys so long? We were about to walk home ourselves!" exclaimed Daisy indignantly, hands planted on her hips. "Mommy told you to never leave the school without her!" I reproached. "But if you took too long, I would miss my favorite show!" chipped in Will. I scooped him up in my arms, and Peeta did the same to Daisy. "Let's go home kids. Daddy's got a day off!"

* * *

**Peeta:**

Weekends were always busy at the bakery, so I woke up early and headed there. After an hour of work, about 10 batches of bread were in the oven and I was frosting a cake. Maggie came in and got right down to work, taking the bread out of the oven and putting in some cookies. I had just finished placing the cake up for display when the bell that signaled a customer entering sounded.

"Good morning!" I said to the black haired, green eyed lady that had come in while wiping flour from my hands. "Can I help you with something?" She was looking around as if analyzing the whole store. "Not really, I'm just scoping out the competition." She replied with a wink.

"So you're a baker?" I asked, curious. As far as I knew, my bakery was the only one around. "Yep! I just moved in to twelve. My name's Anne Hawthorne." She replied and extended her hand for a handshake. "Peeta Mellark." I retorted, shaking her hand. We both looked at each other, as if placing one another.

"You're his wife? " I muttered questioningly. "And you're the husband, huh?" We both started laughing so hard and so loud that Maggie came in to see what the fuss was about. After a few I-think-he's-losing-his-mind looks, she went back into the kitchen.

We collected ourselves soon enough, and started talking. "Who would've guessed? Gale marrying a baker?" I said. It was very ironic. She chuckled. "I know. After we dated for a while, he told me about you and Katniss. I thought it was pretty strange that he would be dating me. You've got a pretty nice bakery here Peeta."

"Thank you Anne. I've been baking my whole life. Daisy, my older daughter, loves to bake, so I think this store might be handed down to her." Anne placed a couple of coins on the counter and asked me for a cookie, which I handed to her. "You're lucky then," she said in-between bites. "Neither one of my kids even consider baking. They're both hunters like Gale." We chatted for a couple of minutes more about our kids and baking, when she suddenly asked. "Can you show me your kitchen?"

I led her into the kitchen, where poor Maggie was working diligently. I made a mental note to give the girl a raise. Anne walked around the kitchen, sometimes asking me questions about the oven or commenting on the frosting of a particular treat. After a few minutes of this she turned to me. "Would you like to hire me?" I was completely taken aback. Then I put on my serious face. "Show me your work ethic Mrs. Hawthorne." I said in a mock strict voice. "Right away Mr. Mellark!" and she started kneading dough, mixing batter, and frosting treats like a machine.

By six o'clock we had double the usual numbers of baked goods ready, and customers loved Anne's cinnamon buns. I had to admit she was a wonderful baker and good company. So when I was closing up shop, I turned to her and said. "You're hired Mrs. Hawthorne!" Just then, Gale came into the shop.

"I knew I'd find you here!" he said to Anne. "Peeta just gave me a job." She said to him with a kiss. "Well that's great. Thank you Peeta!" he said and walked over to shake my hand. "She's a great baker. Today the customers went wild over her cinnamon buns!" I commented while returning his handshake.

"Well, I'm sorry Peeta, but I'm going to have to take Anne for the rest of the night. Kids are calling." I said goodbye to the both of them and finished closing up the store. Maggie was _still _in the kitchen_. _"Maggie, you work too much! With Anne working here now, you'll finally get a break." She smiled up at me, grabbing her purse to leave. "I love working here Mr. Mellark! It's not a problem."

* * *

When I got home, Katniss was skinning a rabbit in the kitchen, while the kids were off in their rooms playing some imaginary game. I joined Katniss, wanting to give her the news. "You'll never guess who I hired today!" she looked up curiously. "I didn't know you needed new employees. Who was it?" I paused, contemplating her reaction. "Anne. She's a great baker."

"Wait, do you mean Gale's wife?" I nodded. "Is she pretty?" she asked after a while of silence. Her question was so unexpected, and so absolutely silly that I laughed for a couple of minutes straight. "What?" she asked, indignant. Her arms were crossed, and I swear she stamped her foot on the ground. "Oh you stubborn, silly Katniss." I walked over and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Yes, Anne is pretty. But you're them most beautiful woman in the world." I said, and then kissed her.

**AN**: Omygosh, total "AWWW" moment at the end! Right?


	4. Ensnaring Situations

**Author's Note: **Ugh, only now do I realize how similar Anne's name is to Annie's name (Finnick's wife). Well, it's too late to change it now! Thank you for reviewing and adding my story to your favorites. It really means a lot to me :D I really hope you like this chapter; I thought it was pretty interesting. Remember to review and tell me what you think!

-Lele

**Katniss:**

It had been about a week since Peeta hired Anne, and I avoided the bakery like the plague. Though I knew it was stupid, I couldn't bring myself to meet Anne. I worried that I would run in to her somewhere, or maybe Peeta would spring a surprise visit (attack, in my opinion). He tried not to, but sometimes he would slip and comment on some delicious thing Anne baked or a funny thing she did. As for Gale, I hadn't even tried to speak to him. That was a rickety bridge I didn't feel like stepping onto.

I had been lost in thought while hunting -which is never a good combination- when suddenly my leg got caught in something. I stumbled and fell onto the ground, feeling a sharp pain on my ankle. I looked down to inspect the damage. _Crap! _A snare had hooked itself around my ankle, and I could already feel blood oozing from where it's teeth bit into my skin. At first I thought it was one of my own snares, but upon closer inspection I realized it was way too intricate to be my own. It was Gale's. Of course he would be hunting again. It would've been dumb for me to think that he wouldn't. And then I heard it. The soft hunter's tread that only years of experience and familiarity made them audible to me.

Gale stepped through the trees, looking surprised to see me on the ground. "What are you doing just sitting there Catnip?" He asked. Then he saw my wound, and was next to me in a second. "I'm so sorry! These are one of my snares. I'll disable it quickly, don't worry." He started working on the snare, and I couldn't imagine why he was helping me.

"Why are you doing this Gale? I've avoided talking to you, never once tried to acknowledge the fact that you're my neighbor now. And don't even get me started on the lengths I've taken to avoid your wife!" I ranted. "If the situations were reversed, you wouldn't hesitate to help me." He said quietly, putting a stop to my rant. That was definitely true. I'd come to his aid, but I sure didn't deserve his help. Soon I felt the metal claws release my ankle, so I tried to move, but Gale stopped me.

"Don't even think about it! I'm going to have to carry over to your house and get help." He reached down and picked me up, but I cringed. "Come on Katniss. It's not like I'm going to make a move on you. You're seriously injured, and there's no way you could walk on your own." Without another word, he trudged through the woods, carrying me. We reached my house rapidly, and I handed him the key. Once through the door, he lay me down on the kitchen table.

"I'm going to go get Anne." He said hurriedly. "What? Why?" I asked, panicked. Lying here, injured on my own kitchen table was definitely_ not_ the way I wanted to meet her. "Because Anne has some pretty good healing abilities, and she's the nearest option. Today she's not working at the bakery, so don't worry about that." Her work schedule was the last thing I was worried about at the moment, but I didn't say anything.

Gale bustled into the kitchen a few minutes later, with Anne in tow. This was the first time I'd seen her close up and personal. And I couldn't deny the fact that she was beautiful. Her long, wavy black hair was pulled into a bun, and she was telling me not worry in a soothing voice. Her sea-green eyes reminded me of someone. Finnick O'dair, the sexy victor from District 4 who became my friend. He who died during the last battle with the Capitol, leaving behind his wife, Annie and an unborn child.

"Were you related to Finnick O'dair?" I blurted out before thinking. She smiled at me shyly while cleaning out my wound. "Not by blood, no. But I am from District 4. And it was his wife, Annie that introduced me and Gale. We're close friends." Ugh, what was I thinking, starting a conversation with her? "Oh." I responded simply, and then winced. The salve she was applying stung.

"I'm sorry about this, but it will help it heal faster. I could give you some pain killers if you want." She also reminded me a bit of Prim, the way she could speak to a patient so calmly, so kindly. "It's fine Anne. I've been through worse." There was an uncomfortable pause, and then I started blabbing. "I'm so sorry that I've been avoiding you. You must think that I'm absolutely ridiculous."

She laughed genuinely, a pleasant laugh. "Honestly, I'm not much better. I didn't make the effort to speak to you either. I guess our husbands are more mature!" I grimaced, because she was stitching the wound closed with a thin needle. But what she said was true. Peeta and Gale had been civil to each other, sometimes even making an effort to strike up conversation.

"We should stop with this avoiding each other nonsense then. Try to become friends." I proposed. She looked at me and smiled. "Agreed."

Just then, Peeta burst in through the front door. "Maggie told me she saw Gale carrying you in here. I came as fast as I could! What happened?" he asked frantically. "I was foolishly daydreaming while hunting and I got trapped in one of Gale's snares. It closed around my ankle. Luckily Gale found me before I bled to death, and Anne here has been helping me with the wound."

Peeta breathed a sigh of relief while inspecting the newly stitched wound. He came over and kissed my forehead. "Don't scare me like that Katniss. I thought you'd been mauled by an animal or something."

Gale burst out laughing, and we both glared at him. "You have to admit that was funny. I mean, an animal mauling Katniss? More like Katniss mauling the animal!" we all laughed then, because it was true.

* * *

After the snare incident the awkwardness between me and Gale started to fade. We agreed to hunt together during weekends, and we stepped into our old familiar routine. Meet up in our favorite spot, catch some game, and sit lazily on the grass while eating berries. I hadn't realized how much I missed this. It was something I'd been craving for ever since I was reaped for my first Games.

Even better than the slow climb in my friendship with Gale, Anne and I were becoming friends as well. She was a person easy to be around, funny without trying too hard. Conversation with her was natural, flowing. I found myself enjoying her company more and more. The most common topic of our conversation was our kids.

She'd enrolled Luca and Rena in school, and it turns out that Luca has the same class as Daisy and Rena the same class as Will. From what we could observe, the two pairs liked each other _quite_ a bit.

One day Anne and I were watching the four kids play together. We went inside for a couple of minutes, and when we came back, we caught Daisy and Luca holding hands! Both Rena and Will came running to us, tattling on their older siblings for it. Imagine how strange it would be if the two got married later on?

* * *

A few days afterwards, I headed over to the bakery to visit Peeta. The front of the store was filled with customers, but Maggie was handling the counter, so I decided to check for him through the back door. I went inside, about to call out his name when I heard a whisper being exchanged between him and Anne. Something about their tone of voice told me this wasn't meant for other ears, so I stayed put, unseen.

"I'll meet you here tonight, after she's asleep." said Peeta. I was shocked. Did I hear that right? I longed to hear more details, but just then Maggie came in to pick up a new batch, so I decided to make my entrance.

"Hey honey!" I said to Peeta, faking a smile after giving him a peck on the lips. "Just wanted to stop by to see you. I hope I'm not interrupting or anything." He hugged me and smiled. "It's always wonderful to see you." It was really hard to suspect him of anything. But I couldn't deny the whispers I'd just heard being exchanged between him and Anne. Could Peeta be cheating on me?

**AN:** Da-du-dummm *Suspenseful music*. Please review and tell me what you think is going to happen!


	5. Doubt on Both Ends

**Author's Note: **Sorry I took so long to update! I've had this chapter done since yesterday but my Internet decided to be mean ;D Okay, just letting you know, I'll probably be starting another HG fanfic soon, and it'll be my version of the second Games! Hopefully you guys like my writing enough to read it! Once again, thank you if you reviewed or favorited!

-Lele!

* * *

**Katniss:**

As soon as I left the bakery I ran to the woods, in need of an escape. Earlier I'd left the kids with Haymitch, so I could stay in here for a couple of hours. I gave up any attempts to actually hunt when I missed shooting a rabbit that had been sitting right in front of me.

Feeling dejected, I collapsed onto the ground and curled into fetal position, tears spilling over my eyes. How could I find out the truth, erase the doubt that was placed in my mind by a whispered sentence? I didn't want to confront Peeta without further proof that he actually _was_ cheating on me. If he wasn't, I knew my asking would hurt our relationship.

So what was I supposed to do? Follow him tonight? Start spying? It was all just really confusing, and I couldn't bring myself to stop bawling. I had been lying there in that position for a while when someone stepped through the trees. Gale. If I hadn't been so wallowed in misery I would have probably heard him coming and tried to collect myself.

"Katniss?" he exclaimed, alarm ringing in his voice. He walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder, probably thinking I was wounded. "Are you hurt?" I laughed a crazy-sounding, hysterical sound. "No Gale. I'm just lying here because it's fun to cry my eyes out." At this point he seemed to notice my injuries weren't physical, but his worried tone didn't die down. "What's wrong Catnip?" he asked as he pulled me up into sitting position.

I was about to spew everything to him, what I heard, my doubts, my questions, when I realized how selfish I was being. Not once did it occur to me that Anne was Gale's wife, and this would hurt him just as much as it hurt me. It was cowardly, but I couldn't tell him.

"Gale…. I don't want to talk about it." I said weakly, and leaned into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me. "It's okay Catnip. It's okay." We stayed that way for a while, and Gale didn't ask any questions as I sobbed. Once I felt I was all cried out, I stood up. Wordlessly, we started walking back towards the district.

I was acting so childish today, and I must've looked pathetic to Gale. It was ridiculous, because I was running away from my problems just as I'd always done. Instead of scolding me, he led me back to the Victor's Village. "I don't want to go home yet." I told him, just now realizing that I should've said something before we left the forest. We doubled back though, walking side by side as he attempted to make jokes to make me feel better.

* * *

**Peeta:**

When I came home, Haymitch was dozing off on my couch, both Daisy and Will lying on top of him. I called out to Katniss, but she wasn't home. It was dark outside, and she never hunted this late. A dark, nagging voice whispered in my head. _She's probably with Gale. Anne even commented earlier on how much time Gale and Katniss have been spending together lately. _I shook those thoughts from my head. Katniss loved me, I loved her, and that was all that mattered. There wasn't any way she and Gale could be together behind my back. Was there?

Laughter sounded outside, and I saw Gale and Katniss walking down the path of the Victor's Village, towards its exit. At first I thought they were coming here, but it soon became apparent that they were headed to the town. Frustrated, I decided to call Anne.

For weeks now I had been working on a series of paintings for me and Katniss's upcoming 25th anniversary. They were stashed away at the bakery, and Anne had agreed to help me with them tonight. But with my currently fuming mood, there was no way I could paint right now.

"Hello?"She answered. "Hi Anne. I don't feel very well, so I'm just going to stay home. Never mind about helping me with the paintings." My excuse was half-hearted, but Anne didn't question me. We said good-bye and I hung up the phone, suspicions clawing through my mind.

I'd told Katniss that she didn't need to stay away from Gale because of me. It was something I didn't want to admit, but every time the two were alone together, I worried. How could I shake off these feelings?

* * *

**Katniss:**

We walked around town, reminiscing. Sometimes Gale would ask me questions about the changes made to Twelve. We even visited Greasy Sae, who was delighted to see us as friends again. I was extremely hungry, so we ate some of the strange concoctions the old woman still created. We sat down on a bench, mentally comparing what it was now to how it used to be, when Gale broke the silence.

"Katniss, whatever happened between you and Peeta, don't let it ruin your relationship. He loves you. _Anyone_ can see it from a mile away, and it's equally clear that he would never do anything to hurt you. You don't have to tell me what's going on, but don't throw away all these years over nothing, okay?"

I nodded; his words making me feel a bit more reassured. "Let's go back home." We walked back to the Victor's Village and Gale left me in front of my house after saying goodnight. Silently, I thanked him for his friendship, and went inside. The house was completely soundless. I guess Haymitch had left, and the kids were asleep in their beds. Though I dreaded it, I went inside my room hesitantly. Lying there, looking angelic was Peeta. A huge weight seemed to be lifted from my shoulders.

Maybe I'd heard him wrong this morning, or maybe I over analyzed things. All I knew was that this vulnerable feeling that I'd been getting lately needed to stop. But for now, I settled for a hot bath and some sleep.

* * *

_I was running towards the bakery. It was a pitch-black night, no moon to illuminate my way. When I finally reached the bakery door, I found that the door was locked, and no amount of rattling would get it to open. After banging on the door with no answers, I looked through the shop window, only to find a dining-room like scene playing out before me. It looked much like my own dining room. Peeta sat at the head of the table, Daisy and Will on either side of him. Except, instead of me on the other end, it was Anne who sat in my place, grinning at me wickedly._

_The scene changed, and I was now in the heat of battle, the very moment when those tiny silver parachutes dropped down on the Capitol children. I tried to warn them, stop them from opening what would surely lead to their death, but a hand clamped over my mouth. The nauseating smell of roses filled my nose, but it was not President Snow who held me captive. It was Gale. He laughed maniacally as I saw Prim running towards the children to help, the bomb setting off, and my little sister bursting into flames._

_And then I was back in the scene from a dream I had long ago, one where every single person that had ever died because of me shoveled dirt into a grave where I lay, still alive and looking up at them in terror. This time, it was worse, because even those who I loved and still lived despised me. Peeta, Gale, my very own children. All of them shoveling dirt that filled my lungs and choked me._

_Once again the settings changed, and this time I was eleven years old again, back to the moment when my father was blown to bits in a mine explosion. A hideous voice heinously whispered to me. It's all your fault Katniss. Everything is your fault. _

The dream ended, and I woke up screaming my head off, pouring with sweat, blinded by my own tears. "PEETA!" I screamed, afraid that he wouldn't be there. Afraid he didn't love me. Almost instantaneously, his arms were around me, serving as a protective cover against the world. He whispered comforting things to me, telling me it would be okay, showering me with kisses. Eventually we both fell back into dreamless sleep, swathed in each other's warmth, momentarily forgetting the doubt that surrounded us and threatened to swallow us up.

**AN: **Another "AWWW" moment at the end ;D I actually had some trouble writing this chapter, so let me know what you think and if I did a good job!


	6. Confrontation

**Author's Note: **Here's an update, I hope you like it! Thank you to all of those who reviewed and favorited this story, and please keep reviewing! They really help me and spur me on to update faster!

-Lele :D

* * *

**Peeta:**

Yesterday Katniss had her first nightmare in months. By the sound of her panicked screams, it was one of the worst she'd ever had. I stayed up with her, trying to calm her down, and eventually, we both fell asleep. When I woke up in the morning, Katniss had already left. Her bow and arrows were gone, so she most likely went hunting. But I couldn't shake off the feeling that she was avoiding me.

Once I woke the kids and dropped them off at school, I headed to the bakery. On the walk to the bakery, questions flew through my mind. If Katniss really was avoiding me, why was she? Where was she right now? Hunting alone, or with Gale? Did I have any real reason to suspect her of anything? Was she cheating on me? These questions were despicable and left me feeling terrible. She was my wife, and I should trust her unconditionally. But at this moment, doubt clouded my mind.

Surprisingly when I arrived the store was already open. No one was at the front, which was also unusual. Voices were coming from the kitchen, so I quickly went to inspect. Anne stood in the center of the kitchen, face red and a scowl plastered onto her face. She was arguing with someone on the other side of the room. I didn't quite catch what she was saying, because my eyes were focused on the other person. Katniss. She stood there, looking equally furious and ready to snap back at Anne. What was going on?

* * *

**Katniss:**

What happened between me and Peeta after I had that hideous nightmare left me feeling horribly guilty. Even after he'd held me and helped me through my hysteria, the suspicion still didn't leave my mind. In an effort to avoid Peeta and keep my mind off of things, I attempted to hunt in the morning.

As soon as I stepped into the woods I knew this was not what I really wanted to do. My heart wasn't in it, my kills weren't clean. What I _really _wanted was to get some answers. If I couldn't bring myself to ask Peeta, how could I find out the truth?

_You could ask Anne_, I thought. Once that came into my head, I couldn't shake it off, so I left the woods and headed to the bakery. Anne was my friend, and the only female one I'd ever had. But I knew that if I didn't get this out of my skull, the nightmares would continue and I would snap. She would probably be offended if it wasn't true, even to the point where she no longer spoke to me, but it was a risk I had to take.

I was so distracted that it took me twice as long to get to the bakery, so I worried Peeta might already be there. Luckily when I arrived, Anne was the only one inside. "Hey Katniss!" she greeted me, slightly surprised. "Hi Anne. Uh… I need to talk to you." My tone of voice must've caught her attention. "What's up Katniss?" she asked, looking straight at me. I couldn't turn back now. "Is there any chance that Peeta is seeing someone else?" Her eyes narrowed. I'd never been good with words, that was Peeta's thing. Even though I hadn't asked her directly, she saw where I was going with this.

"Katniss, if you're asking if there's something going on between me and Peeta, just say it." That's exactly what I wanted to know, and she knew it. So why make me say it? "Fine. Are you and Peeta getting involved behind my back?" I crossed my arms over my chest, not in an act of defiance, but to protect myself from her answer.

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard Katniss." What? Here I stood, feeling miserable, and she was calling me stupid? Enraged, I lifted my head, feeling offended. "You didn't answer my question."

She looked at me incredulously. "Of course not! Why would you even think that? Have you _seen _the way Peeta looks at you?" I hesitated. That was the second person this week that mentioned the way Peeta acted towards me. "I overheard him telling you to meet him here last night after I fell asleep." At first she looked confused, and then remembered the conversation I was speaking of.

"You really don't see what a wonderful husband you have." She scowled, looking disgusted with me. So now I was stupid AND blind. Furious, I was about to retort when I noticed we weren't the only ones in the room. Peeta stood in the kitchen doorway, looking at me.

Anne must've seen me staring behind her, because she turned around. "Peeta. You're here..." She said awkwardly. Thank you Captain Obvious, I thought. Frowning, Peeta looked between me and Anne. "What's going on? I thought you were hunting Katniss." I was terrified. What if Anne told Peeta of my suspicions? This was getting out of hand, and I owed it to him to confront him about it. So before Anne could say anything, I quickly made up my mind.

"Peeta, I need to talk to you." He nodded, perceiving that whatever I had to say was important. Anne saw it was her cue to leave, so with a pointed look at me, she exited the kitchen. With a deep breath, I started talking. "Yesterday, when I came to the bakery, I heard you telling Anne to meet you here. It sounded really secretive. And lately, you guys have been spending so much time together. You work in the same place, share the same interests. It's gotten me worried that you two could be together behind my back." The look he was giving me was hard to sort out. He seemed a bit hurt, but mostly, he just looked relieved.

* * *

**Peeta: **

It cut me deep that she could ever doubt my love for her. Not because of my pride, but because she still had no idea the effect she could have on people. "Katniss, there's nothing going on between me and Anne. Nothing. I've told you so many times that I love you. You're the only woman that I'll ever love. I told Anne to meet me here because I've been working on something for our anniversary, and I wanted her help." She stood behind the counter, as far away from me as possible, arms crossed over her chest. I came closer to her, and stared straight into her beautiful gray eyes.

"I'm not angry with you for suspecting me of cheating. Because, well, I've been worried myself. You've been spending so much time with Gale, and I was becoming increasingly jealous." It felt wonderful to finally voice my insecurities, and I felt less weak now that I knew she had been feeling the same way. "Every time you went hunting with him, I feared that you would fall in love with him. You guys are so alike, share the same interests…"

Suddenly, she leaned over the counter, grabbed my face and kissed me. It was a deep, sweet kiss that voiced all of our insecurities and love for each other. She pulled away first. "We need to stop with all of this vulnerability. You know, I've had two people tell me within a 48 hour time span that I don't see what a wonderful husband you are. And to think that there I was, balled up in the woods while you were sitting here worried about our anniversary present." She paused and gave me a little kiss.

"I love you Peeta. I really, really do. There may have been a time when I loved Gale. But the whole time that I had feelings for him, I also had feelings for you. That was twenty-five years ago. You're the only man that I love now. And if my saying it isn't enough, I'll prove it to you." I could see the wheels turning in her head. "Let's renew our vows. We can have a big wedding, much bigger than our first. We'll invite people from the Capitol, all of our friends in Twelve. Everyone will see that I love _you_, and only you."

"Really?" I asked, shocked. Katniss hated big celebrations and fusses. Our first wedding had been simple, the traditional toasting, papers signed that made things legal, and a bit of cake that I had baked myself. Haymitch had been there along with his geese, as well as Greasy Sae. But that had been it. For Katniss to be willingly offering to have a huge celebration, it was a miracle. She must have really wanted to prove something to me.

"I'm serious." She said, looking determined. "I'll even start planning today! But first I have to go apologize to Anne." And with another quick peck on the lips, she went back into the kitchen, leaving me to wonder if she would really go through with our second wedding.

* * *

**Katniss:**

When Peeta told me that he'd been afraid I was cheating on him, I felt a thousand times better, but it also got me thinking. We had been married for almost twenty-five years, and it only took Gale to come back into our lives for us to start doubting each other. It was terrible, and I felt that we both needed to strengthen our relationship. We needed to settle these insecurities once and for all. That kind of thing doesn't happen easily, so I thought that a celebration of our love with plenty of witnesses would be a good start. Of course Peeta took it very well. He'd always been one for parties with plenty of interaction with other people, and I could see he loved the idea.

Since I wanted this to be soon, I'd have to start planning already. But there was no way that I could go through with this without apologizing to Anne first. Peeta may have forgiven me easily, but Anne was a different story.

She was sitting in the kitchen, frosting some fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies. "Anne, I'm so so-" I tried to say, but she cut me off. "Katniss don't even start. I know how it feels to think your husband is cheating on you. A couple of years ago, I was worried that Gale was in love with Annie. But he wasn't, not even close to that. At the time, I felt ridiculous. I bet that's how you're feeling now. So don't try to apologize." She looked up from her cookies, seeming earnest. "I'm sorry for calling you stupid earlier, but I just couldn't fathom why you would ever think that Peeta was cheating on you. And with me of all people! You're practically the only friend I have in Twelve, I would never do anything like that to you. Neither would Peeta."

I nodded, unsure how to respond. "Peeta and I are going to renew our vows soon. It'll be a big celebration, and I'm going to need your help. And since you're my only female friend and I admire you dearly, would you like to be my Maid of Honor?" My question seemed to catch her off guard, but she grinned. "I would love to!"

I squealed in a very un-Katniss like manner, because at this point, the whole wedding thing seemed pretty exciting for me. After saying goodbye to Anne, I went to the front of the store. Customers were filing in, but I managed to speak to Peeta. "Where do I even begin to plan a wedding?" I asked, sounding comically desperate.

"You should speak to the only party planner we know. Call Effie." He suggested with a mischievous wink. I groaned, but I knew it was necessary. There was no way I'd be able to do this whole thing without Effie, even with Anne's help. So I kissed Peeta good-bye and headed home, ready to face the wrath of Effie Trinket.

* * *

**AN:** Sooo glad the whole cheating dilemma is over! Hope you liked it! Please review and tell me what you thought! Anyone excited to see Effie again? ;D


	7. Preparations, Preparations, Preparations

**Author's note: **Sorry I didn't upload sooner, prepping for standardized testing sucks -.- Anyways, the next couple of chapters will center around their vow renewal/second wedding! Just a mini spoiler, after the wedding stuff, a couple of years will pass. Hope you like it ;D

* * *

**Katniss:**

As soon as I got home I started searching for our long-lost list of contacts. It had been years since we called anyone outside of Twelve. For a while I'd tried to establish a connection with my mother and the few others who put up with me, but they never stuck around long enough.

The book of contacts turned out to be buried in a drawer in one of our spare guest rooms. I should probably start cleaning these out, because soon they would be filled with people, I thought to myself.

Though I dreaded it, I dialed Effie's number, hoping that she hadn't changed it. "Hello?" answered Effie in her ridiculous Capitol accent. "Uh, hi Effie. It's Katniss." I said nervously. Before I could get any more information out, she started scolding me for not calling her sooner, and then saying how lovely it was to hear from me. After a couple of minutes of this, she seemed to realize my call had some sort of purpose.

"So what did you call for again?" she asked. "Well, Peeta and I will be renewing our vows, and I will need some help planning it and everything." She let out a delighted squeal, and then launched into the preparations. "I'm going to call your old prep team immediately. Knowing you, they'll probably have a lot of work to do!" I tried not to take offense, because it was true in a way. Not to mention that I was looking forward to seeing my silly prep team again. "When I arrive, I'll make sure to bring different catalogs, as well as a list of people that simply _must_ attend! Oh, and I'll tell Plutarch as well, because I'll need him to get some important people to come." So I said goodbye to Effie, as she promised to arrive here in three days, tops.

There wasn't much else that I could do about those outside of Twelve without Effie's help, so I decided to inform people within the district about my upcoming celebration. Haymitch still wasn't in the loop, so I headed over to his house. As I climbed the steps up to his porch, a flock of baby geese toddled behind me. It was amazing how he'd been able to take care of these animals for so long.

As usual, Haymitch's door was open, so I let myself in. He was lying on his couch, snoring heavily. No amount of poking would wake him, so I settled for my usual methods. Icy water right in the face usually did the trick.

He awoke, spluttering. At this point, he already knew that if he woke up wet, it was because of me. "Why'd you do that sweetheart? I wasn't sleeping from a hangover! I just fell asleep while watching TV." He protested as I handed him a towel. Though years ago I would've doubted what he was saying, this time I believed him. Haymitch had really been making an effort to stay sober. I tried to help him in my own way, by forbidding for him to see my children if he even so much as drunk a drop in the past forty-eight hours.

"Sorry Haymitch, but I've got great news. Peeta and I will be renewing our vows." I said as I poured him a cup of water. He just shrugged his shoulders. "What, are you going to have a second toasting or something?" I shook my head. "No actually. It's going to be an real wedding, with guests, a priest, dancing. Maybe even cameras, if Plutarch joins us." Haymitch did a literal spit-take, showering spit everywhere.

"Are you serious?" he asked skeptically while wiping spit off of the floor. "Yeah, I'm serious. I even called Effie, and she'll be here in a couple of days." I sighed. "It's going to be a lot of work!" Haymitch burst out laughing. "Who would've thought? Katniss Everdeen _agreeing _to and planning a big party. Why are you doing it anyways?"

At first I considered lying, but this was Haymitch. He'd been with me throughout most of my life. So I opened up about the whole cheating dilemma, my insecurities, and all that Peeta told me. "You two are quite a pair! You can survive the Hunger games –twice, mind you, overthrow a government that's been in power for centuries, and handle countless other injuries, but as soon as one of you gets close to someone of the opposite gender, you both break down." When he put it that way, our feelings seemed absurd, and I guess they were.

"I know, I know. But I just feel that we need to have some sort of big gesture that blows any insecurity out of the water." I explained. "Well, you couldn't get much bigger than this! And knowing Plutarch, as soon as he hears about this, he'll want to air it all over the country!" I grimaced at the thought, but a big fuss was exactly what I was looking for.

* * *

It turned out Haymitch was right. That night Plutarch called me, sounding wildly excited. "Katniss, it's wonderful to hear from you again, and with such good news! Effie told me she would handle decorations and such things, and I've agreed to help contact some very important guests, like President Paylor! This is a golden television opportunity! It could be aired throughout Panem! We could even interview you and Peeta about your life and see how the remaining victors are doing!" he babbled on and on about different segments and people. Honestly, I tuned him out, simply glad that he would be able to come. "I'll be there, along with a camera crew and a couple of guests in 5 days okay Katniss?" We said goodbye and I hung up.

Already I felt exhausted, and the real stuff hadn't even started yet! Peeta sat on the couch, watching TV with the kids. "Who was that?" he asked as I sat beside him, head resting on his shoulder. "Plutarch. Can you believe he's already got a camera crew assembled? Our second wedding will be seen all over Panem!"

* * *

Just as she'd promised, Effie was knocking on my door three days later early in the morning, my prep team in tow. As soon as I answered the door, my prep team attacked me with hugs, kisses, and so many questions that I didn't even have time to answer them!

Effie wore a wig in the shape of actual flames. It seemed to be shifting colors, just as real fire. Her outfit was a powdery black that seemed to look like glowing embers. "Katniss, don't you love my outfit? We should totally use the 'Girl on Fire' theme in your wedding!"

My prep team nodded vigorously, as if it was the most fashionable idea in the world. Venia's previously aqua spikes had been died black with red tips, and though she'd grown older, her figure was still thin and angular. The gold tattoos above her eyebrows were still there. Flavius still had his corkscrew orange curls, but he wore a jumpsuit that like Effie's shirt & skirt combo, seemed to be glowing like embers. Octavia looked the most changed out of the three. Her plump body seemed to have a natural skin color, no longer died green. She no longer wore such heavy makeup, and her natural auburn hair hung down her back in waves. She wore a black dress that had the similar glowing embers effect as the others.

Their outfits were nothing like Cinna's brilliant design that I wore during the 75th Quarter Quell chariot ride, but their messages were clear. It was a sweet thing to do, but the whole thing seemed_ way_ too over the top. "It looks fabulous Effie." I said with a fake smile "But it brings up such terrible memories." I made my face purposely fall, and they all came around cooing and trying to comfort my fake sadness.

"Oh Katniss, I'm so sorry! But don't you worry! We all have plenty of other outfits and ideas for a theme! Not to mention my suitcase filled with multi-colored wigs!" I wondered if she was serious about the wigs, but it was better not to ask. Before we got to the whole wedding stuff, I gave them a little tour, since the rooms and décor were different from the last time they came here. Yesterday I had cleaned and arranged their quarters, so I assigned each one of them to a room.

When I introduced Daisy and Will, everyone practically bowed down to the two. "Why are your hair and clothes on fire?" asked Will innocently. Effie laughed a bit awkwardly. "It's just some lovely fashion dear." Will still looked confused, but enjoyed the attention. The prep team was practically drooling over Daisy. "She's so beautiful!", "She has Peeta's eyes, but Katniss's hair!", "Imagine what fun it will be to dress her up!"

Daisy's eyes sparkled at the preposition. The entire troop went back downstairs and sat down in the living room. Peeta had come home to meet them, so after the usual pleasantries he served us all tea and special cookies. One of Effie's helpers brought in huge catalogs that contained every last bit of information on weddings. There were samples of invitations, font styles, cakes, dresses, decorations, wedding guest tips, and so many other things that I thought were completely irrelevant.

"Alright, first things first. Where will the wedding actually take place?" asked Effie in a let's-get-down-to-business tone. "Here of course." replied Peeta and I in unison. Effie let out an exasperated sigh. "Do you really want to hide all your furniture? Will there really be enough space for all the people you're inviting?"

"This house is plenty big. We're not inviting an entire district Effie, and though we want a big celebration, I don't want to go too crazy." Peeta said, amused at her annoyance. The house really was huge. There were rooms in here that I'd never found use for."Fine. I'll need you two to draft up a complete guest list by tomorrow! How about the food?" Before Peeta could nominate himself, Effie added. "There's no way that I'll allow Peeta to do everything himself. The MOST I'll allow him to do is to make the cake." Peeta frowned, but didn't protest. "I know wonderful caterers that can make delicious dishes. You'll just need to hand me a list of foods you'd like, and they'll make it. Next up is the outfits."

Ugh, I thought. This was the part I'd been really dreading. "It turns out that the wedding dresses Cinna designed for you have been saved in the Capitol. Would you like me to retrieve those?" My mouth fell open. Would I really get a chance to have a piece of Cinna with me on my second wedding? "Yes!" I exclaimed, and hugged her tightly, much to Effie's surprise. She patted my back and continued with the plans. "There are also invitations, decorations, style, flowers, music, setting…" the list went on and on, but my patience was running low.

"Honestly Effie, it really doesn't matter to me what you do with those. Just make sure it's not too colorful, not too over the top. You can choose all of that on your own." Though she looked at me disapprovingly, she didn't object. "Alright Katniss. I'll try to clear things with you or Peeta beforehand. Start working on the guest list and the food, because I need that by tomorrow!" I nodded, took Peeta's hand and we went outside for a walk through the town.

"You're amazing you know that?" he said while looking at me strangely. Blushing, I gave him a playful shove. "Hardly. What brought this on?" He put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. "Even though you hate all of this, you're still going through it. _For me_. It's simply amazing." I rolled my eyes. Was he really not aware of all the things he'd done for me? This was only small compensation towards the huge debt that I owed Peeta. He'd given me hope, lifted me out of depression, stayed by my side for so many years, built a family with me. But I knew that no matter what how much I argued, he wouldn't listen, so we just walked silently, discussing people to add to our guest list and foods that we wanted.

* * *

**Author's note: **Heh, another "Aww" moment at the end. Do you like them? :DSorry I didn't switch between P.O.V's this chapter. I thought Katniss's excitement/anxiety towards the wedding would add more to the story! Anyways, please, please, please review! Gale WILL turn up in the next chapter, so don't worry, Lol. I need to know whether you guys like where I'm going with the story or not!


	8. The Train Comes In

**Author's Note: **SORRY, SORRY, SORRY! It's been a couple of days since I last updated, and I feel terrible since some of you like me because of my somewhat daily updates. I've been pretty busy this week with exams and other stuff, so I didn't get a chance to write a chapter that I was happy with until today. I made this chapter extra lengthy to (sort of) make up for it. Promise, I'll keep a less sporadic updating schedule next week! If you aren't too mad at me, please review, tell me what you think, give me suggestions, and feel free to beat me up ;D

-Lele

* * *

**Peeta:**

Katniss and I had stayed up discussing the guest list. In the end, this is what we came up with: Annie, Johanna, Beete, Enobaria, Haymitch, Gale, Anne, Plutarch, President Paylor, Rena & Luca, Annie's three sons (Trevor-who was Finnick's, but James and Anthony were from her second husband) along with her husband, Delly Cartwright (who had moved back to Twelve shortly after the rebellion and I spoke to occasionally), Flavius, Venia, Octavia, Greasy Sae, Maggie, and a couple of other people from Twelve who Katniss was close to. There was only one problem. Katniss had already told me her maid of honor would be Anne, but who could be my best man?

When I came back to Twelve, a couple of months after the rebellion, Katniss had been my main concern. Ever since, I'd never really gotten too chummy with any guys from Twelve. Haymitch was probably the only man that I could call a close friend, and since he'd been through so much with me, I walked over to his house to ask him.

"Hey Haymitch." I said as I approached his front yard. He stood outside of his house feeding his geese. Seriously, how had they survived and reproduced this long? He nodded at me in greeting. "As you know, Katniss and I are having our second wedding. I was wondering if you'd like to be my best man." I proposed.

He looked up at me sheepishly. "Gee, sorry Peeta. I would love to be your best man, but I already agreed to walk Katniss down the aisle." Katniss hadn't told me. "Oh, okay Haymitch. What she wants is more important. Who else do you think I should ask?" He took a while to answer, but he had a mischievous grin on his face.

"Why don't you ask Gale? It would be a gallant move on your part, and it would just add to the whole 'insecurities behind us' thing." He suggested. Hesitantly, I thanked him for the input and headed to Gale's house before I could give up on the idea. He most likely wasn't hunting, since Katniss was busy with Effie.

After knocking twice, Gale answered the door. "Hello Peeta. Come on in." he welcomed. I could hear Rena and Luca playing in the other room, but he led me into the kitchen. "I was just making some stew, so we'll have to speak in the kitchen." I nodded and begun my preposition.

"Katniss probably told you about our upcoming second wedding. I was wondering if you'd like to be my best man." Gale looked surprised at first, but then his expression became unreadable. "Actually, Katniss didn't actually personally tell me about the wedding. I've heard gossip around the district. She's been avoiding me lately. May I ask, why are you guys having all this fuss anyways? It doesn't seem like Katniss."

It was strange that Katniss was avoiding Gale, but I guess it was understandable. At first I considered lying to Gale, but since he was so closely tied to the real reason we were doing this, I explained the whole thing. As my explanation progressed, his face became stormy.

"So Katniss thought Anne was cheating on me, yet she didn't tell me anything? I sat there comforting her, thinking it was a fight you two had, while she knew there was a possibility my wife was cheating on me?" He shouted once I finished. "Peeta, I'll be your best man if it'll convince you that Katniss and I have nothing going on. But I need to have a conversation with her first!" And with that, Gale stalked out of his own house, leaving me standing there completely dumbfounded and wondering just what to do with the boiling stew.

* * *

**Katniss:**

Peeta and I had drafted up the list of guests, and he left the food up to me. Effie had to help with that, because the only think I really wanted was some lamb stew with dried plums and cheese buns. She suggested some cuisine from Twelve, like goat cheese wrapped in basil leaves, as well as a different bread representing each district. There were things that I knew from when I was the Capitol, like chicken and oranges in cream sauce on rice, goose liver with puffy bread, and some flower shaped rolls with peas and onions that she added to the list as well. In the end, we had plenty of mouthwatering foods to order.

She started taking measurements for my dress, and Anne came over to get hers taken too. We decided she would be my only bridesmaid to make things easier, and her dress would be forest green. Daisy wanted to be the flower girl and Will wanted to be the ring-bearer, so we got their fittings out of the way as well. Just as I was about to take a well-deserved break (who knew this would be so stressful?) a fierce knock sounded on the door.

With a quizzical look at Effie, I went to answer it. Outside stood Gale, looking down at me with smoldering eyes. He pushed past me into the house without even saying hello. Incredibly irritated, I turned around with my hands on my hips. "What are you doing here Gale?" I demanded.

"Why did you think you had the rights _not_ to tell me that you thought my wife was cheating on me?" he yelled, straight to the point and right in my face. Grimacing, I looked away from him. I wasn't proud of that, and it had been part of the reason why I had been avoiding him.

"You're right. It was completely selfish of me. But you have to understand I wasn't sure, and I knew that if I told you, you wouldn't hesitate to confront Peeta about it. I just wasn't ready for that." Before he could respond, Effie and Anne came into the room. From the looks of it, Effie probably summoned Anne to calm her husband.

"Gale, what are you doing here?" Anne inquired, stepping between the two of us puzzled. He'd been standing a couple of steps in front of me with his arms crossed, and you could clearly tell he was angry. "Katniss didn't tell me she thought you were cheating on me, and that's just not right. If I thought Peeta was cheating on her, I wouldn't think before telling her." She came closer to him and put her hands on his chest. "Calm down. I don't blame her Gale, and you can see she feels terrible about it. And you know I wasn't cheating on you. So stop fussing over it." Her tone of voice was very reasonable, it seemed like even I could agree to anything she was saying.

His face softened and his arms fell to his sides, looking deflated of his anger. "Okay Katniss, I forgive you. But please, you can tell me anything. We're supposed to be best friends y'know." He looked at me pointedly and sighed. "As Peeta's best man, is there anything I can do to help?" I wondered if he was joking about the whole best man thing, but Effie pounced on him before I could question anything. "There's plenty you can do! The train comes in tomorrow, so we'll all be very busy. Come here, I need to take measurements for your suit!" she rattled on and Gale followed her out of the room. Anne and I looked at each other and laughed, because Effie Trinket could break even the toughest of men.

* * *

"Up, up, up! It's going to be a big, big, big day!" said Effie in an overly cheerful voice that woke us. She wanted us to wait for the train at the station. When we arrived there, the train was late, so Effie left us to yell at some poor station employee. As I sat on a bench in the station, terrible memories flooded is where I entered the train that led me to a whole new part of myself. The train that led me to so many horrors, hurt, and loss; the place where I was toyed with and broken. These thoughts stole my breath, made me shudder and quake dizzily, threatened to swallow me up.

"Katniss." The sudden voice broke me away from my morbid recollection. Peeta was here, I reminded myself. He was sitting by my side. We have a family together. The Games are just a distant past, the Capitol no longer a crushing force. After a few deep breaths, I assured him that I was alright and shook away his concerned looks.

About ten minutes later, the train arrived, much to Effie's relief. She had been pacing back and forth after the station manager assured her the delay would be brief. Once the train screeched to a stop, the doors opened and out flooded a troop of boxes, suitcases, and cameramen. Mr. Plutarch Heavensbee himself stepped off the train and came to greet us all warmly.

"Katniss, Peeta, Effie! Wonderful to see you all! As you can see, I went through a great trouble the last couple of days. Have you seen the new ad on television? Everyone's raving about it! The districts can't wait to see the remaining victors, not to mention the wedding of their favorite rebels!" I honestly had no idea what advertisement he was talking about, but surely he would show it to me later. I dreaded the fact that soon, I would have no privacy. Effie had already warned me, the next couple of weeks would be interview after interview, plus various wedding duties.

These thoughts were almost as overwhelming as my dark nostalgia, but not quite.

* * *

Effie made sure that Plutarch and the rest of his crew were comfortable in one of the empty houses of the Victor's Village. As soon as he was settled in, Plutarch called my prep team and told them to restore me to Beauty Base Zero since I'd be doing my first interview in a couple of hours. As always, Peeta was just fine and wouldn't need much prepping, so he was probably just relaxing now, or perhaps at the bakery.

I was ushered into my bathroom and Venia drew the bath, using settings that I'd never even considered. I was shaved, plucked, and doused in unpleasant liquids. Though I cared more about my appearance than I had before the Games, I still wasn't up to my prep team's standards. As they bathed me (which was very uncomfortable, by the way) the trio chattered about their lives just as they had before.

Once they thought my body was presentable, they started working on my hair. I never cut it much over the years, so it went down to the middle of my back. "This is terrible! We simply must dye the entire thing and add some highlights!" exclaimed Flavius so distraught that it was comical. The fact that I had grey hairs sprinkled across my dark brown locks was the biggest problem they found with me.

Flavius plastered my hair with overly sweet smelling chemicals then covered it with a thin layer of plastic wrappings, all while Octavia worked on evening out and coloring my nails. It was a long, patience-trying process and it took all of my self control not to scream after more than an hour of being pampered over.

When Flavius deemed my hair ready, he took off the wrappings and took out a scary looking device that blew gusts of warm air onto my newly dyed tresses, drying it in only a few minutes. Venia begun doing my makeup, which didn't take very long since Beauty Base Zero requires a very natural look.

Finally, after many hours, they let me look in the mirror. My hair was loose around my face in undulating waves with not a single gray hair in sight. My eyebrows had been newly plucked, my skin looked pearly smooth and my gray eyes seemed almost radiant. Octavia had done my nails in a way so it looked as if nothing had been done to them, yet there were no uneven areas or chips. Once again I had to congratulate them, because I looked about ten years younger and absolutely beautiful.

Just then Effie came inside to help me choose my interview outfit. "Oh Katniss, you look magnificent!" she exclaimed. "Thank you Effie!" I beamed. "What am I supposed to wear in this interview?" She led me into a room adjacent to mine, where rack after rack of clothes had been set up. There were shiny evening dresses, mock hunting outfits, and if I wasn't mistaken, even some of the outfits I'd worn in the Capitol during my two Games.

"Well, Plutarch wants you to wear something 'Girl on Fire' themed if you don't mind. It's how people recognize you from the rebellion days." I sighed in relief. The wardrobe choices could've been much worse. Apparently, "Girl on Fire" had become a huge fashion trend sweeping across the districts years ago, so there were about two racks filled with these themed clothes. Effie wanted me to wear a poufy red ball gown that sparkled, complete with a headdress that looked like flames. I wanted to wear the comfortable looking hunting gear that had been colored to look like burning coal. After a great deal of discussion and one intervention from Plutarch, we decided on a knee-length dress that looked like dancing flames, along with black heels that looked like coal. The combo was so breathtaking that it seemed to be designed by Cinna himself. My hair was twisted into my signature braid and after applying a bit more makeup, I was ready for my close-up.

Hands shaking in agitation, I climbed down the stairs to my living room, which had been transformed. Cameras surrounded my couch, the furniture had been pushed out of the way, and a blue backdrop had replaced the view of my kitchen. Lights had been placed around the room, microphones planted, and a mini control room had been set up in the hallway. How long had I been getting ready anyways?

Peeta sat in the new and "improved" couch (fancy new cushions had been added to it) nonchalantly, looking extremely attractive. His blonde hair had been combed and styled, but besides that, he looked as handsome as always. He wore a suit that matched the coal-like texture of my shoes, along with a flaming tie. Somehow, the suit made his blue eyes pop and his mile-long eyelashes that you usually couldn't see more visible. I stood there, mesmerized until he caught me gawking and gestured for me to sit beside him.

"You look stunning Mrs. Mellark." He complimented quietly as he took my hand. "Thank my prep team for that. But you, sir, look dashing, all on your own." He laughed and kissed me. We were interrupted by a round of applause. "See that's golden for the camera! The audience would love that!" exclaimed Plutarch. A few minutes later everything was set and the interview about to begin.

"Hello citizens of Panem, we are here today at the home of two of the most famous victors, Peeta and Katniss Mellark! They will soon be renewing their vows in a fabulous celebration, but for now we will be asking them your questions about their life together after the rebellion! We'll also have special guests Gale and Anne Hawthorne, who will be taking part in the wedding, as well as other guests in the wedding!" introduced Plutarch in the perfect show-host voice.

Hmm, whatever happened to Ceasar Flickerman? I wondered. Plutarch sat in an ample chair beside us that looked very plush. "Let's begin with the questions! Now everyone is eager to know how old you both are?" Peeta shifted in his chair and put his arm around me. "I'm proud to say that I'm 43 years old" he said with a wink. Ugh. He was such a natural! "As am I." I responded with all the enthusiasm I could muster.

"Age_ is_ just a number! I must say, the two of you look fiery tonight!" It was amazing just so much like Ceasar he sounded. "Thank you so much Plutarch! You have my marvelous stylists to thank for that!" After a closer examination and several comments on how we seemed to heat up the room, Plutarch moved on to more questions.

"So, what do the two of you do today?" I hesitated. "Well, I'm finally able to use my archery skills freely. I go out into the woods almost every day and shoot some animals, then sell them." Hopefully talking about my hunting was an okay thing to do. "I've opened up my very own bakery. It's wonderful work! Luckily, Daisy seems to have a hand at baking too!" Peeta responded, lightening the load of my answer.

"Who's Daisy? Is she your only child?" Plutarch asked. "Daisy is our daughter, who's 10 years old now. We also have Will, who is our son and is 8 years old. It's true, Daisy loves to bake, but Will has a hand at hunting." I replied. Peeta chuckled beside me. "How about we bring out these kids, eh? Daisy and Will everybody!"

Shyly, the two kids came into the set, all dressed up. Daisy, ever daddy's little girl sat on Peeta's lap, while Will, who was a momma's boy sat on mine. "Hi kids! You guys look great!" greeted Plutarch. Daisy took the liberty to stand up and twirl in her frilly yellow dress. Her dark brown hair bounced around, her blue eyes shone. Will just sat there watching his sister, grey eyes wide and nervous.

"What a lovely family! Mr. and Mrs. Mellark have wedding business to attend to, so were going to interview their friends next. Don't worry, they will be interviewed further later on. Stay tuned!" Plutarch motioned for us all to stand up. Arms around each other, we waved to the cameras and Peeta and I shared a kiss. "Cut! That's a wrap!" exclaimed a cameraman.

"Wonderful job as usual Peeta! Katniss, it seems like you're doing better in front of the camera than before. Let me just say, Daisy is a natural!" I agreed. She was like Peeta in the sense that she did well with cameras and could bake, but she was a very stubborn and proud person, just like me.

Gale and Anne would be interviewed next, but Effie needed me for something, so I couldn't watch their interview in person. I guess I'd watch it when they aired it on television. "I have a surprise for you!" Effie squealed excitedly. I mentally rolled my eyes. It was probably something insignificant for the wedding that she thought was amazing.

We entered an isolated room in the house. It was bare, except for a large mahogany wardrobe with intricate carvings. Venia, Flavius, and Octavia stood in front of it, looking about to burst from anticipation. "The wedding dresses that Cinna made came in from the Capitol! You need to choose the one you like best." Effie explained.

Now wildly excited myself, I asked them to show me the dresses. It wasn't really the dresses that I looked forward to, but the person who made them. Cinna would be with me for my second wedding. With tears threatening to spill over my eyes, I examined the three dresses tenderly. They were designed so beautifully, each stitch placed carefully. Cinna really was a genius stylist. It took a while, but I decided on one that was simple yet masterfully crafted.

The dress had sleeves made of a soft, almost transparent white cloth that reminded me of a bird's wings. The neckline was a slight v-shape and small, almost invisible beads were scattered across the top half. From the waist down the dress poofed out just a bit, with intricate white lace over a silky bottom. The material cascaded down and looked light enough to fly in the wind. It was simple, yet stunning, and I fell in love with the dress. It was as if I could hear Cinna next to me, telling me that he was still betting on me.

Effie said she would make some minor adjustments according to my measurements, but it would be ready in a few days. Though before I had been looking at this whole wedding thing as a hassle, the dress made things less overwhelming. I actually found myself excited for the interviews, the fuss, and everything else. Once again, Cinna was giving me hope.

* * *

**AN:** The big wedding chapter is next (Woot, woot!). Let me explain the whole Katniss-lost-it-at-the-train-station thing, in case some of you were wondering. She went through so much, and I don't think she'll ever truly be okay. Things may get better and all, but Katniss is still a much scarred character. There'll probably be some more moments when she goes slightly coo-coo. I know not much happens in this chapter, but things will probably get more exciting. Hehe, mahogany wardrobe (see what I did there?) D Hope you liked it, and once again, sorry for taking so long to update!


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